We had Rod and his crew replace our roof. We chose him based on his price and his nice color brochure. One of the items he advertised that was important to me was that payment was due on completion of the work. I don't like dealing with contractors where you have to pay for their gas so they can go pick up the crew, then give them $10 so they can get some lunch, then go with them to the store so they can put materials on your credit card. Rod advertises "financial stability" and "strong credit rating" which can only mean one thing: That he'll carry the costs until the job is complete.

Wrong.

When I called to approve the estimate and schedule the work he said he needed half the money ($5000) up-front. I reminded him that he had told me both in writing and verbally that nothing was due until the job was complete. He said I couldn't possibly expect him to carry this job because he has two other jobs outstanding that were bigger than mine. I reminded him that those guys paid for their materials up front (right?) so that should be no problem. He stammered a second and started going on and on about his costs.

I'm a nice guy so we agreed I'd pay $5000 when the shingles showed up in the driveway. The crew shows up and the foreman knocks on the door and asks for a check. I reminded him that I wasn't going to pay until there were shingles in the driveway. He said OK and they got to work tearing off the roof. Late in the day he came to me and said they were going to go pick up the shingles and needed my check. I went ahead and paid.

The rest of the roofing job went fine. The crew was professional and worked quickly. My only complaint is the questionable immigration status of his non-English-speaking crew. But they did good work.

Immediately on completion the foreman knocked on the front door and asked for a check. I said I'd be happy to pay once I have a final bill with all the extras added on. I reminded him there was some interior work that was part of the job and that hadn't been scheduled yet.

We got the interior work done and the foreman stopped back for a check. I reminded him I didn't have a bill. He said it would be the balance of my roofing bid plus $1200 for extra items and $750 for the interior work. I said to put that in writing, drop it in the mail, and I'd be happy to send a check right away.

A couple days later he showed up with a written bill. The bid had been for $9906.15. The bill showed the bid as $10,000. The bill had an additional $1200 for six squares of shingles. When I asked he said they ran short. This is a guy who has been doing this for 20 years. He measured my house before starting. I specifically asked if the bid was a firm price and he had said yes, with the exception of plywood at $29.10 per sheet installed. I told him I wasn't going to pay the $1200 because that was included in the original bid.

The cost for 13 hours of drywall work in the house had gone from the original $750 he quoted me to $1925.10.

I don't mind paying for work that I ask someone to do, but I don't appreciate rounding up the original bid by $100, adding to the bid after the job is complete, and tripling the drywall work. I had been impressed with Rod until we got to the bill. Between that and his use of illegal immigrants on his crew, I don't recommend him.

We had Rod and his crew replace our roof. We chose him based on his price and his nice color brochure. One of the items he advertised that was important to me was that payment was due on completion of the work. I don't like dealing with contractors where you have to pay for their gas so they can go pick up the crew, then give them $10 so they can get some lunch, then go with them to the store so they can put materials on your credit card. Rod advertises "financial stability" and "strong credit rating" which can only mean one thing: That he'll carry the costs until the job is complete.

Wrong.

When I called to approve the estimate and schedule the work he said he needed half the money ($5000) up-front. I reminded him that he had told me both in writing and verbally that nothing was due until the job was complete. He said I couldn't possibly expect him to carry this job because he has two other jobs outstanding that were bigger than mine. I reminded him that those guys paid for their materials up front (right?) so that should be no problem. He stammered a second and started going on and on about his costs.

I'm a nice guy so we agreed I'd pay $5000 when the shingles showed up in the driveway. The crew shows up and the foreman knocks on the door and asks for a check. I reminded him that I wasn't going to pay until there were shingles in the driveway. He said OK and they got to work tearing off the roof. Late in the day he came to me and said they were going to go pick up the shingles and needed my check. I went ahead and paid.

The rest of the roofing job went fine. The crew was professional and worked quickly. My only complaint is the questionable immigration status of his non-English-speaking crew. But they did good work.

Immediately on completion the foreman knocked on the front door and asked for a check. I said I'd be happy to pay once I have a final bill with all the extras added on. I reminded him there was some interior work that was part of the job and that hadn't been scheduled yet.

We got the interior work done and the foreman stopped back for a check. I reminded him I didn't have a bill. He said it would be the balance of my roofing bid plus $1200 for extra items and $750 for the interior work. I said to put that in writing, drop it in the mail, and I'd be happy to send a check right away.

A couple days later he showed up with a written bill. The bid had been for $9906.15. The bill showed the bid as $10,000. The bill had an additional $1200 for six squares of shingles. When I asked he said they ran short. This is a guy who has been doing this for 20 years. He measured my house before starting. I specifically asked if the bid was a firm price and he had said yes, with the exception of plywood at $29.10 per sheet installed. I told him I wasn't going to pay the $1200 because that was included in the original bid.

The cost for 13 hours of drywall work in the house had gone from the original $750 he quoted me to $1925.10.

I don't mind paying for work that I ask someone to do, but I don't appreciate rounding up the original bid by $100, adding to the bid after the job is complete, and tripling the drywall work. I had been impressed with Rod until we got to the bill. Between that and his use of illegal immigrants on his crew, I don't recommend him.